City gets another slap in the face as feds cut terror funding

Advance file photoRep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, blasted the Department of Homeland Ssecurity's plan to cut funding to New York City, saying, "it's reckless" and "makes absolutely no sense." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --The message sent from New York to Washington was loud and clear last night: Is anybody paying attention?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to drastically cut security funding for city mass transit and ports less than two weeks after a car bombing attempt in Times Square.

And lawmakers here are furious.

U.S. Rep. Peter King's office said the DHS would give the city $111 million for mass transit security, a 27 percent cut from last year's funding of $153 million.

Port funding would also be cut by 25 percent, from $45 million to $34 million, his office said.

The DHS budget is expected to be officially announced today, but congressional staffers were briefed on the numbers ahead of the announcement, his office said.

Ironically, President Obama arrives in lower Manhattan this afternoon to thank the NYPD who responded to the Times Square bomb plot. Though the cuts had been expected, that was before the attempted Times Square bombing on May 1, King's office said.

"The Times Square attempt served as a wake up call for many, but apparently not for the Obama Administration, which should be dramatically increasing New York City's homeland security funding, not decreasing it," King said in a statement.

The Republican, who is the ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security, said the Obama administration's decision was "dangerous and unconscionable."

Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, also blasted the DHS, saying, "it's reckless" and "makes absolutely no sense."

McMahon, a member of the House's Terrorism, Trade and Nonproliferation Subcommittee and Vice Chair of the Coast Guard and Maritime Subcommittee, issued the following statement:

"Less than two weeks ago, we had an American citizen try to detonate a bomb in Times Square. The logical conclusion to be drawn from that attempt is that New York City remains the number one terror target in this country and that we need to be more vigilant in our fight against terrorism, as it appears the threat now grows within our borders.

"Earlier this month, I traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan with my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and I can attest that New York needs these funds now more than ever. Why DHS would leave our mass transit systems and ports susceptible to attack is beyond me. I understand that DHS needs to spread its resources across the country, but history has shown that New York is the primary target and should receive the proper funding to protect itself. The Administration must redistribute anti-terror money to focus on New York City. If these funds are not restored, I will work with my colleagues in the New York Congressional Delegation to do whatever we can to ensure that New York receives its necessary share."

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat, said the cuts show that the administration is "not doing right by New York City on anti-terrorism funding" and urged it to reconsider.

"Instead of distributing funding all over the country, they should focus their attention where the greatest threat exists, right here in New York," he said in a statement.

DHS said in a statement yesterday that it was "actively engaged" in supporting the city's anti-terror efforts through "an array of grant programs."

The agency said it had awarded more than $457 million to the city in 2009.

The city has said it wants to improve transit security by increasing the number of security cameras in the subway system.

The transit system has been a target of plots in the past, most recently involving suspect Najibullah Zazi, who admitted to leading a plot to bomb New York City subways.